White House national security adviser John Bolton declined to say Thursday if the U.S. military would intervene in Venezuela to support opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president Wednesday.
“We’re working really around the clock here to do what we can to strengthen the interim government,” Bolton told reporters in the White House driveway, stressing diplomatic pressure and efforts to channel unspecified “revenues” to “the legitimate government.”
But Bolton ignored two shouted questions about whether the U.S. would “invade” Venezuela to support Guaido and two shouted questions about “military options.”
[Read more: White House offers safety to Maduro if he leaves Venezuela peacefully]
Although often a noninterventionist, particularly on Mideast policy, President Trump has discussed invading Venezuela with advisers, according to reports last year, and has publicly threatened that “all options” are open.
“The fact is Venezuela is in our hemisphere. I think we have a special responsibility here, and I think the president feels very strongly about it,” Bolton told reporters in response to a question about whether Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro is equivalent to “all the other dictators” around the world.
Trump and the leaders of many regional countries, including Brazil and Colombia, have recognized Guaido, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Guaido is seeking to depose Maduro through mass protests, but efforts appear doomed without support from Venezuela’s military.
Maduro created a rival constitutional assembly that claimed legislative powers after political opponents won 2015 elections. The successor to Hugo Chavez has presided over an economic implosion featuring high inflation and a spike in violent crime, prompting an exodus of refugees.
Bolton said Vice President Mike Pence, who encouraged protests in a tweeted video, spoke with Guaido on Tuesday, the evening before he declared himself interim president, and that U.S. officials were continuing contact.
“The vice president spoke to him the evening before the recognition statement made by the president, and others are speaking with him as well through our embassy in Caracas,” Bolton said. “Our personnel are still there. They have been invited to stay by the legitimate government, and consistent with their safety, that’s our intention.”
